Tulum

Tulum (Spanish pronunciation: [tu'lum], Yucatec: Tulu'um) is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. The ruins are situated on 12-meter (39 ft) tall cliffs, along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have resulted in very high fatalities, disrupting the society and eventually causing the city to be abandoned. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, Tulum is today a popular site for tourists.

History and description

The Maya site may formerly have been known by the name Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. Tulum stands on a bluff facing east toward the Caribbean Sea. Tulúm is also the Yucatan Mayan word for fence, wall or trench. The walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to be defended against invasions. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian. From numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god. Tulum had an estimated population of 1,000 to 1,600 inhabitants.

Tulum (municipality)

Tulum is one of the ten municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It became one of the newest municipalities in the country when it was formed on March 13, 2008, when it was separated from Solidaridad Municipality.

Tulum is home to the Maya archaeological sites of Tulum and Cobá.

Geography

The municipality of Tulum borders the municipalities of Solidaridad to the north and Felipe Carrillo Puerto to the south, in the state of Quintana Roo. It also borders Chemax Municipality and Valladolid Municipality in the state of Yucatán on the northwest, and the Caribbean Sea on the east.

Orography and hydrography

Like most of the Yucatan Peninsula Tulum is entirely flat with a gentle slope towards the sea, so from west to east, the area never reaches a higher altitude than 25 metres (82 ft) above sea level. The municipality is 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level on average.

Like the rest of the peninsula's surface the land has a limestone base that does not allow the formation of surface water flows such as rivers and streams; the water instead flows in underground rivers that sometimes rise to the surface in the cenotes. Lakes and cenotes are the major bodies of water in the municipality.

Tulum cheese

Tulum cheese (Turkish: tulum peyniri) is a traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened in a goatskin casing, called tulum in Turkish. Due to its unique flavor, it is preferred as meze to rakı in Turkey.

Cheesemaking

Conventional

Tulum cheese is made by heating high-fat goat's milk to a temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) and subsequently souring it through addition a starter culture. The milk then starts to coagulate. After about an hour, the milk is entirely converted into curds and whey.

The curd is drained and repeatedly cut by special knives into smaller cubes allowing the whey to drain. The temperature is kept constant throughout this process. The curds are collected in hemp cheesecloth, which have been cleaned, cooled and wetted before use. The bundles of curd are then hung for eight hours to allow them to drain and cure. The curds in the cheesecloth are then pressed into a form with a wooden cover. A weight is placed on the cover for several hours allowing more whey to be expressed. The curd is subsequently cut in pieces the size of bar of soap and immersed in brine. The pieces are then arranged on a counter, and cured for 24 hours.